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The list of cool programs approved is astounding: https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/science-execution/approved-programs/cycle-1-go https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/science-e
by lucb1e 5y ago
The list of cool programs approved is astounding: https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/science-execution/approved-programs/cycle-1-go https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/science-execution/approved-progra...
Small selection that jumped out at me:
> Mineral Clouds in the Atmosphere of the Hot Jupiter
> The JWST Protostellar Ice Legacy Survey
> Analysis of Low-Albedo Asteroids
> Composition of an Interstellar Object – Unique Insights into Protoplanetary Disk Midplane Chemistry
> Mapping, Resolving and Penetrating into the Dusty Spiderweb Protocluster with Unique Pa-beta Imaging
The list just goes on and on, and I also found that the site hosts similar stuff for the Hubble telescope and more. Just a few hours ago, the HST looked at
> A wide, red-giant plus non-interacting black hole binary, or triple stellar system?
https://www.stsci.edu/hst/phase2-public/16654.pro https://www.stsci.edu/hst/phase2-public/16654.pro
Instrument configuration, apertures, location to point it at of course, where in the orbit around earth it is at the time needs to be considered... this isn't as much point and shoot as one might think (I didn't consider this before). It also shows a warning message: "Electrons per pixel due to background (0.26) is less than the recommended threshold of 20 electrons". Since this was scheduled for only hours ago I guess the results won't be known for months, but even just what goes into the scheduling and configuration, there's so much info here.
Is there a channel or website somewhere that keeps up with the results? The list is way too long to really go in-depth on all of them, but 2 minutes about what the objective was and what they found would be super interesting for many of them.
- adhesive_wombat 5y agoGod I wish there was a podcast about this kind of thing: just get stuck in deep to some kind of hyper-focused thing per week. Even if sometimes I don't fully understand every concept, I'd take that over having "atoms have a thing called a nucleus" being the general level of explanation or recycled press releases levels of content for the commute. Really winds me up about things like James May's programme where he'd spend an hour taking apart a lawnmower and self-deprecatingly call it nerdy to go into that detail. No! You could spend an hour explaining the metallurgy that goes into the case hardening on a single bolt or how the gear involutes are adjusted for the expected wear pattern and I'd find that more interesting than an hour skipping all the detail and, worse, pretending that was a deep dive.
- lucb1e 5y agoFrankly that lawnmower thing sounds interesting as well, even if I'd find the JWST a lot more interesting. It's not not nerdy to look into lawnmower tech just because it's an everyday object or not your specific focus area :)
- adhesive_wombat 5y agoIt's not nerdy enough! I want a 10 part series on just the machine that sharpens the blades, and another on the engine oil, and another on the heat-resistant paint! None of these are my area, but all are fascinating in their own way.
- rolandog 5y agoSpaceTime with Stuart Gary is a great podcast where the host goes into detail about the relevance of new studies. I really like it.
- pkaye 5y agoThe YouTube channel for the Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Telescope have a lot of interesting content. Scientists and Engineers do presentations about the science and technology. https://www.youtube.com/c/hubblespacetelescope/videos https://www.youtube.com/c/hubblespacetelescope/videos https://www.youtube.com/c/NASAWebbTelescope/videos https://www.youtube.com/c/NASAWebbTelescope/videos